


An Imprint on Your Heart

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Captivity, Dehumanization, F/M, Loneliness, M/M, One-Sided Allurance, Rift Reality, Sassy Lance (Voltron), Zookeeper Allura, endgame klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 20:02:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15781101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Allura is a Zookeeper at the Arusian Zoo and Wildlife Conversation Centre, with the charge of a very special Earthling affectionately named 'Lance'. A popular attraction for the visitors, his sudden lack of enthusiasm is concerning.When advised to provide him with a companion for his emotional well-being, Allura allows the zoo to bring in a Galran cross-breed of similar age from the Wildlife Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre.Can Lance settle down this halfa and remove him from the ranks of the Non-Cogs? Can this newcomer fulfil her favourite Earthling's need for socialisation?Allura hopes so.





	1. Showmanship

Allura d'Altea came from a long line of noble Alteans, tracing her lineage all the way back to Empress Allura, who rid the universe of the scourge of the Galra Empire. Her family was well-off and she needed for nothing in her life. She was asked, many times, in the interview process, why she wished to join the workforce at all. She gave them variations of the same answer: 

She _cared_ for the beings of the universe. Sure, she could have gone into politics, but she didn't only want to support the intelligent, civilized species. Her true passion was the conservation of a species her father had been fond of: Earthlings. It was the most significant species of the long-since destroyed planet 'Earth' - though the third most intelligent, and nowhere near the most populous. They had dominated the land mass, or so her Uncle Coran liked to tell her the anthropological texts claimed. 

She was fond of her Uncle Coran, and perhaps his enthusiasm for the species had led her to following her passion. While he had a more scientific enthusiasm - he was the universe's foremost anthrozoologist specialising in Earthlings - she had a much more nurturing ambition towards the primitive, vulnerable species. 

Eventually, she picked Planet Arus for her career. There was plenty of opportunity for upward mobility, and she was instrumental in the transfer of their first Earthling into the new exhibit. 

He - they were reasonably certain it was a male of the species - was a sweet critter. With a charming colour and an almost flirtatious set of behaviours, he quickly became one of their most popular exhibits. And she was lucky enough to have developed a strong, personal bond with him. That sort of imprinting was a true treasure in zoology, and there were many jokes around the break rooms and tour guides that he was 'in love' with her. 

It was time for the daily human show, so she adjusted her uniform and neatened her hair before heading out to the stage. The stadium surrounded the Earthling Exhibit on three sides - and there was a fourth wall made entirely of glass so visitors could look in on the exhibit from ground level. The fifth wall, of course, was a private interior connected to the zookeeper's private corridors - for when they needed to take him to the in-house vet for check ups and such. 

She had consulted with Coran for the design of the exhibit. A wooden structure on a patch of green grass constituted the Earthling's den. As for its environs, the hologram showed green rolling hills and trees - and at the front of the exhibit near the stage was a peculiar grainy dirt Coran called 'sand' and pretty blue-green water. 

'Lance' spent his time lounging around the sand, attempting to make primitive communications with the visitors. Frequently, during the height of the quintant-cycle, he would dip into the water and swim through the water. 

Lately, however, he'd been spending more and more time instead his den. Coran was coming for a consultation soon, but the other zookeepers assured her it was probably nothing more than an Earthling hibernation cycle. 

The crowd was getting a little rowdy. A youngling, Olkari if she wasn't mistaken, was hanging over the railing. "Dad!" he whined. "Where is it? I want to see the Earthling!" 

The father lifted him and took him back to their seats. "Patience. Animals don't exist to perform on command. It will come out when it's ready." 

She cleared her throat, and the stadium came to a silence. As she greeted them, and welcomed them to the show, her voice carried easily. It was in her blood to address crowds, to command their attention. 

She explained about Earthlings " _Sometimes called 'humans',_ ", their diet and habits, the total population " _only 1 million Earthlings left in the wild, with 5 million protected in zoos and reserves across the universe_ ". People always yawned their way through that part of the show, but maybe some of it would sink in and they'd leave some spare groggeries in the donation buckets for the conservation efforts on New Earth. 

But for the part of the show they actually liked - "we're lucky to have a very special Earthling here with us at Arusian Zoo and Wildlife Conversation Centre. A young mature male Earthling, born in captivity as part of the breeding program at Reiphod International Zoo. At sixteen years of age, he's about one fifth into his species' lifespan. He's almost at his adult height but his body shape will continue to mature as he ages. Everybody met 'Lance'!" 

There was a cheer, but it petered out much faster than usual. She turned her head, confused. He was one of her most punctual animals - the other zookeepers liked to joke that he knew how to hit a cue and make an entrance. Likely he only recognised the sound of his name and knew to come out when he heard it. 

But no, he wasn't exiting the den. She gave the audience an apologetic look. "It seems he's a little shy today!" she announced, to a light smattering of laughter. 

She leaned out over the railing, looking towards the doorway of the den. "Lance!" she called, making her voice sweet and enticing. "Come on out, dear." 

Slowly, he did appear in the doorway. The crowd gave an excited gasp. About the height of an Altean, with skin a sort of bronzed colour, soft brown hair and a pair of surprisingly blue eyes - he always got a reaction from the audience. He was a beautiful, svelte creature - much prettier than some Earthlings she'd seen in her work experiences. He knew it too! He was always preening for the audience and spent an inordinate amount of time grooming himself. 

He shuffled his feet as he left the den, hands shoved into his pockets. 

"Say 'hello', Lance!" she encouraged, gesturing towards the audience. 

"Hello Lance," he echoed - it was so clever how he had learned to mimic the sounds of Altean language! The crowd cheered loudly its approval. 

"Why is it wearing clothes?" The Olkari child called. "Does it think it's a person?" 

She gave him a proud smile. She adored children who loved to learn about the Earthlings. "Earthlings have an outer layer that is insufficient for insulation against their own climate," she explained. "Not the smartest of evolutionary techniques for a species. Instead they developed a primitive textiles industry. Lance here is very fond of his attire - he spends some time every day picking colours and shapes of clothing that compliment his features." 

That got a few absurd laughs. Like an Earthling could care about its appearance! 

She smiled. "To Earthlings, appearance and attire are very important for acquiring mates. The most beautiful of Earthlings are the first choice for mating in the short term. Although for the development of a new pride, other factors come into play. Such as how they can provide for any young that might come from copulation." 

"Does it have a mate?" Another member of the audience asked. 

"He's too young to have a pride of his own yet," she replied. "We must carefully restrict short-term mating amongst adolescent Earthlings - since it only puts a strain on their pride if young develop from the coupling. It appears through our research that female Earthlings are unable to restrict their own fertility." A little embarrassed to have to talk about this, she moved on with the show. 

She had Lance demonstrate his swimming, and his tree climbing, and even his skills as a marksman - something unique to him, as far as she could tell. He couldn't be made to engage in the mating rituals they called 'singing' and 'dancing', despite her encouragements. 

The audience left, content, unknowing that they'd missed anything important. He headed back towards his den, and she found herself descending into the enclosure. 

"What is wrong with you?" She hissed- he couldn't understand her, not really, but it felt good to get it off her chest. "Why won't you do as I say? I've tried asking you nicely, and I've tried commanding you! What do you _want_ from me?" 

He gave her a blank-eyed look and headed into the den, closing the door in her face. 

She stomped her foot. "If you think you'll be getting any chocolate with your dinner tonight, you're wrong!" Agitated, she headed through the back to the zookeeper's corridors. Coran better come soon, Lance was becoming quite unmanageable! 


	2. Consult

Coran looked disapprovingly at his niece-and-goddaughter Allura. “Last time we talked, you said you were going to get him some company.” 

“I put him in with the Kaltenecker!” she argued, sounding almost petulant about the accusation. “ _You_ said they were a species that peacefully co-existed on their planet of origin. But he started doing-” Her face flushed with agitation, “ _unsightly_ things to it. In view of the children! And what he was doing with the fluids was simply disgusting. I couldn’t ethically allow them to cohabitate any longer.” 

Well, humans were a little bit disgusting sometimes. It couldn’t be helped. Before the extermination of their planet, they’d still cut into each other like gutting a mermallian and administered small doses of poisons in the name of ‘medicine’. They would simply never know what could have become of humankind if they had been allowed to go on in their own way. But Coran saw the beginnings of greatness in their histories - they were capable of many things, both terrible and wonderful. It was a shame it had all been lost. 

He sighed. “When last I was here, I thought I managed to impart to you the importance of companionship for him. Humans are a _pack species_ , Allura. Isolation can be detrimental to their well-being.” 

“He’s not _isolated_ ,” she replied impatiently. “He’s socialised daily during the shows, and I spend hours with him every day. If he’s being lonely, it’s because he’s withdrawing _himself_ from company!” 

“Isolation and withdrawal from usual habits is a very common symptom in depression for humans.” They’d had this discussion many times before. 

As previously, Allura very nearly rolled her eyes - not that she would ever be seen doing something so immature. “So he’s bored. We can add some more activities into the enclosure. On Rephoid they had some success reconstructing Earthling’s ‘rubber balls’...” 

Coran sighed. Once again, she missed the point. “The _only_ thing I can recommend is companionship. But if you like, I can go in and talk to him, ask if he desires anything else.”

She gave a little scoff. “‘Talk’ to him. Uncle, are you still touting that nonsense?”

“It’s not nonsense, Allura,” he protested - but without any fire. They had this conversation every time they met. “Humans had seven thousand languages before the destruction of their planet. If you applied yourself, you could learn the few that remain.” 

She gave a dismissive wave. “Having unique sounds for different objects is not _language_ , Uncle. But I’ll let you go squawk at him if you like.” She led him around to the exhibit’s staff entrance and he left her behind as he approached the den - what had Lance called it last time? A ‘house’?

He knocked on the door, a peculiar habit he’d picked up from field observation on New Earth - humans appeared to use it to announce themselves to people through a door while waiting for an invitation to enter. 

It opened a little and a blue eye peeked out at him. “Coran?” 

“Coran Coran the Gorgeous Man!” he sung proudly.

Lance gave something like a laugh - though it was nothing like the happy noises Coran knew, or that he’d even heard from Lance last time they spoke. It was less than half-hearted. He opened the door and gave a gesture to invite Coran in.

Strange. Lance called himself ‘outdoorsy’ previously, and every time he saw the boy it had been outside on the sand - enjoying the artificial light and giving the passerbys waves and smiles.

When he followed Lance into the house, it was uncharacteristically messy. His clothes were dropped on the floor and left to gather dust and wrinkle. The little jars he used to mix fruits for his grooming were empty and uncleaned, left in haphazard piles on the shelves. Lance himself only crossed to the bed and shifted back under the blankets. He arranged them so one was hugged up to his back, and embraced a pillow against his chest.

“Did Allura call you?” ‘Call’, he knew, was a human term for communicating across long distances - so he nodded. There was something hopeful, something longing in Lance’s gaze. “She’s concerned about me?”

Coran nodded. “Of course she is.” 

Blood gathered under the human’s cheeks. Peculiar that reaction, he still didn’t have a reason behind it. “She does care about me, doesn’t she?”

He nodded with a smile. “Of course. Even if she had her own way of showing it!”

Lance gave a soft sort of smile and nuzzled into his pillow. “Y-yeah. Right.” He was very flushed in the cheeks.

“She says you haven’t been very social recently,” Coran explained carefully. “How are you?”

Lance sighed. “I’m fine, really,” he insisted. Coran waited. “But…” there it was, “I miss my family. The twins will be so big now…”

Exactly like Coran thought. Lance’s bond with his pride was stronger than many of the other humans he’d come across. And being here with no companions whatsoever was bad for his mental health. 

He stroked fingers through his moustache. “Perhaps I can visit Rephoid. Then I can tell you all about their progress.”

Lance’s eyes began to water, but he was smiling. “That… that would be so awesome, Coran. Please… if you can.”

Coran smiled and reached out to pat his shoulder. “Of course, my boy. I’ll do everything I can.” That wasn’t an empty promise, he was already figuring out what contacts he had that could get him access to Rephoid. If worse came to worse, he’d buy a basic entry pass and take holographs for Lance, so he could at least _see_ his last pack. It would have to do, until he could convince Allura that Lance needed a _companion_.

But for now, he sat back and gave him a look. “Now, you have to tell me what you were doing with the kaltenecker. Allura looked positively scandalized.”

Lance laughed. Full and properly - it was a relief to hear. 


End file.
